Congressional Ethics Inquiries Helped Sweep Some Lawmakers Out of Office

In California, Richardson, above, faced an uphill battle to best Hahn in a Democrat-on-Democrat race in a new Los Angeles-area district.

Congressional ethics inquiries helped tank some lawmakers’ re-election bids and proved to be only minor annoyances in others, remaking the slate of open cases before the House Ethics Committee as it heads into the next Congress.

The committee’s July announcement that it would formally investigate Berkley’s role in saving a kidney transplant program at a hospital that contracted with her husband’s nephrology practice quickly became a liability in her bid to unseat Republican Sen. Dean Heller. Both campaigns spent money and airtime addressing the allegations, which were first reported by The New York Times.

“It was the single reason why she lost,” said a Democratic source in Nevada familiar with the campaign. “If she had half the baggage she had going into that race, we’d be referring to her as Senator Berkley right now.”

The loss likely means that the committee’s probe will end without a conclusion, given its timetable and the fact that investigative subcommittees must be reauthorized at the beginning of each Congress. A report from the independent Office of Congressional Ethics on the case will still be released.

In California, Rep. Laura Richardson’s already uphill battle to best Rep. Janice Hahn in a Democrat-on-Democrat race in a new Los Angeles-area district became steeper after the House reprimanded her in August. A committee investigation concluded Richardson had likely violated House rules and federal law by forcing her congressional staffers to engage in compulsory campaign work.

Other lawmakers, including Reps. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, and Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, saw their re-election bids end even earlier when opponents seized on alleged ethical lapses during primary campaigns.

Though Schmidt was essentially cleared of wrongdoing after accepting roughly $500,000 worth of legal assistance from a Turkish-American interest group, it became a talking point in her redrawn Ohio district. Her GOP challenger, Brad Wenstrup, will take her seat in January.

The committee in August received the Reyes matter from the OCE. Though details about the probe have not been released, a Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington report earlier this year singled out Reyes for using his re-election campaign to reimburse himself and his family members $400,000 over two election cycles.

Reyes’ primary opponent, former El Paso City Councilman Beto O’Rourke, and an anti-incumbent super PAC both cited the CREW report during the primary campaign. The committee is slated to make its next announcement on the case at the end of this month, at which time the OCE report will be released, except in the unlikely event an investigative subcommittee is formed.

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March 13, 2015

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., right, hugs Harold Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, after the Congressman spoke at the IAFF's Legislative Conference General Session at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, March 9, 2015. The day featured addresses by members of Congress and Vice President Joe Biden.